Abad ready to get back on the hill after oblique strain

Astros lefthander Fernando Abad, who was pulled from his last start Monday with an oblique strain, declared himself fit to start next Monday after throwing long toss from 90 feet for 10 minutes Wednesday.

“It went good,” he said. “I’ll be ready to go on Monday, God willing. I’ll throw a bullpen on Friday in Milwaukee.”

Gonzalez good to go Friday
Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco is optimistic about having righthander Edgar Gonzalez (2-1, 3.94 ERA) ready to start Friday against the Brewers. Gonzalez had been bothered by a hamstring injury.

Manager search after Milo hoopla
Asked if there would be any updates on the Astros’ managerial search, general manager Jeff Luhnow said the club wanted to keep the focus Wednesday on Hall of Fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton’s last game and the last home game of the season.

“Today is about Milo,” Luhnow said. “We really want to celebrate that and the last day of the season here at home and say goodbye to our fans.

“We’re continuing to work on (the managerial search). A lot of time and energy have been spent on it. As soon as the time is right, we’d like to move the process along as quickly as possible.”

GM in dilemma over Martinez
Outfielder J.D. Martinez had the hook of the hamate bone from his left hand removed by Dr. Tom Mehlhoff at Texas Orthopedic Hospital on Wednesday.

“Typically, from my understanding, it’s four to six weeks until he’s able to resume full baseball activity,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “Then we’ll make a decision at that point whether or not there’s any winter ball or whether it’s sort of getting ready for spring training.

“I think it would be good to have it behind him and go into next year with a clean slate. J.D. is a young guy. He got here quickly. He skipped a level, struggled this year at times, showed flashes of what we really want him to be.

“If he can go out next spring with no health issues and start mashing the way we know he’s capable of mashing, he’s going to be a force in our lineup.”

Dominguez weak after illness
Still a bit weak, infielder Matt Dominguez was available on the bench Wednesday after being sent home early the previous two nights with flu-like symptoms.

“I’m a little better than yesterday,” he said. “I’ll be able to stay today. It’s been tough because you can’t really eat and have no energy. I just feel drained.”